Three oil and gas firms have been looking for offshore vessels to support their activities in Indonesia and Brazil. Namely, Brazilian state-owned giant Petrobras has launched a new tender for two anchor handling, tug, and supply vessels. Both anchor handlers will be hired on a four-year contract starting in December 2025. The vessels must be ..read more

Acute labour shortages see South Korea reach further and further afield to fill positions at its booming shipyards. Some 280 workers have been sourced from landlocked Uzbekistan to start work this summer at a number of yards around the industrial city of Ulsan. The workers will be paid South Korea’s minimum wage of 10,030 won ..read more

Malaysian offshore marine support services firm Perdana Petroleum has won a work order from energy supermajor Shell for the charter of two accommodation work barges. Perdana won the work order from Shell’s Malaysian subsidiary Sarawak Shell. Under the deal, the barges are chartered by Perdana’s wholly-owned unit Perdana Nautika for three years. Financial details were ..read more

India’s largest private oil and gas player Cairn Oil & Gas has entered into a strategic alliance with TechnipFMC to accelerate the delivery of integrated subsea infrastructure for future deepwater projects in India. The collaboration will leverage TechnipFMC’s integrated engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (iEPCI) model. This alliance will rapidly advance Cairn’s deepwater exploration ambitions ..read more

The Banga family, who own Hong Kong’s Caravel Group and Fleet Management, have bought India’s International Maritime Institute (IMI) for an undisclosed sum. ‘Established in 1991, the IMI in Noida near New Delhi, specialises in pre-sea training for cadets. Acknowledging what is described as an “urgent challenge” to attract and develop young talent to sustain ..read more

Malaysia’s troubled offshore services player Sapura Energy has secured a RM1.1bn ($250m) bailout from the government to repay debts to vendors. The company said in a Bursa Malaysia filing on Wednesday that the country’s Ministry of Finance had agreed to provide a financial injection to the company. The investment was done via Malaysia Development Holding ..read more

A Panama-flagged tanker was boarded by seven individuals while transiting eastbound in the Philip Channel yesterday, approximately six nautical miles east of Kasu, Indonesia, the latest in a string of similar incidents in the same area.  According to Ambrey, a British maritime security specialist, the suspects were reportedly armed with “gun-like” objects. During the incident ..read more

Indonesia’s Pertamina has awarded a four-year contract to a jackup rig owned by Chinese driller CNPC Petroleum Offshore Engineering (CPOE). The contract for the CPOE 16 rig will be both the rig’s and the company’s first drilling project in Indonesia, marking its first foray into Southeast Asia’s offshore drilling services sector. According to a company ..read more

Ocean Winds, a joint venture between France’s Engie and Portuguese electric utilities company EDP, has been granted an electricity business license for its Hanbando wind farm off South Korea. The 1,125MW bottom-fixed project is located in the exclusive economic zone off Incheon. The license grants the project exclusive development rights over the sea space and ..read more

Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) is buying LBC Tank Terminals, one of the world’s largest independent tank terminal operators primarily handling and storing chemicals in Europe and the US. The acquisition of the Dutch firm will cost $1.72bn with the closing of the transaction subject to obtaining permits and approvals from relevant authorities. LBC ..read more